If you fancy some real excitement, an ATV tour offers the perfect solution. You can cruise the San Felipe coastlines with a one-hour tour, or take in the scenery and enjoy the thrill with an all day ride. You can rent your own ATV or tow your own big toys to San Felipe and try out the dry water tracks or the stunning sand dunes, where you can enjoy breathtaking views as well as exhilarating fun.

Fun in the sun, San Felipe style
(ATV’s and Waverunners)

Whether it is by sand or sea, San Felipe is a great place to have a ball.  Some visitors prefer to bask in the sun by the pool, take leisure walks along the shore, or do some shopping along the Malecon to pick up those cool little gifts for themselves to remember their little paradise.  For others who come to the town of San Felipe, it is a chance to get in a little more…adventurous activities.  Wave-runners and ATVs are the perfect way to experience the fun and excitement that this little slice of heaven has to offer.

Never having been on these big-boy-toys that so many have told me about, I just had to see what the big deal was.  So in planning my next trip to San Felipe I made sure to set aside the time and a little cash to experience them for myself.  Sure, this town is famous for its desert races.  I mean the Baja 500 and 1000 races are known all over, even by those who aren’t die hard racing fans.  But it couldn’t be that much fun, could it?

After getting into town, my wife and I went out to a nice dinner, and then settled in by the beach to watch the sunset.  We talked about the trip and how we love to come here.  We decided that we would get out on the ATV’s on the next day, and then try out the wave-runners on day 3.  I was kind of surprised that she wanted to get on them as well, since she usually likes more laid-back activities.  Little did we know that we were about to embark on a few rides that would be unlike anything we could have hoped for.


ATV’s
What goes up, must come down.

So morning came and we took our usual spot to drink coffee and watch the spectacular San Felipe sunrise.  No matter how many times you see it, there is still amazement in the way the sun greets the sky in San Felipe.  It’s like a dance of colors in the sky where every step is choreographed perfectly.  Then she turns to me and says “I almost forgot.  We are going out on the ATV’s today.”  Only it sounded more like “let’s get this over with so that I can get on to some shopping downtown.”  We got ready, making sure to apply plenty of sunscreen.  After a quick lesson in the controls, which were pretty easy, we were off. 

You know, I remember thinking as each of us stepped onto our ATV’s that we would only be out for an hour or so before we would want to come back.  I was so wrong.  We ended up staying out over three and a half hours.  The only reason we came back that soon was that we were starting to get a little red from the sun.  It was the most fun three and a half hours we had experienced.  What a blast.  Its funny how, at over 50 miles per hour, the wind still cannot blow the smile from your face.  After really getting used to controlling these 4-wheel wonders, we decided to kick things up a notch.  Up & over the sandy hills of exhilaration we went, just fast enough to truly take in the experience.  With each passing moment I was getting more willing to test the laws of gravity.  We were having such a good time.  That is until “THE INCIDENT”.   

Now is a good time to go over some very important safety tips that everyone should follow.  Especially those who are new to the fun of ATV riding, and more so first time ATV riders (like myself).  Safety tip #1.  Make sure you have checked over your ATV to be sure it has the proper fluids.  You know, brake fluids, oil, gas.
Safety tip #2.  Make sure that you wear the proper safety equipment.  A helmet and pair of goggles should always be worn.
Safety tip #3.  For those of a lighter complection, sunscreen will definitely be needed.
Safety tip #4.  Before you start increasing your speed going over the sand dunes, take a good look at the area.  Make sure that you know how steep the other side of the bigger dunes are.  Take a couple of passes at a lower speed, and then you can try going faster.

I had followed all of the safety tips, with the exception of #4.  Big mistake. 

Wanting to show off a little for my wife, I decided to see just how high of a jump I could do.  With her looking on, I sized up a dune that I thought would do the trick.  Well, maybe I didn’t necessarily size up the dune.  More like I quickly glanced at it then took off.  This would be a prime example of not following Safety tip #4.  I made sure to start off far enough away to get the ATV up to a good speed.  I hit the dune with enough speed to almost launch me out of the atmosphere.  When I hit the top and was airborne it became very clear that it would have been a very good idea to glance at the other side before I set off.  Of course it was a little too late for that now.  I remember looking down and trying to get an idea of where I was probably going to land.  Within a split second I realized that this particular dune was, how should I put this, not ATV friendly.  Just by sheer chance I had picked a dune to jump off of that the landing side was twice as deep as the launching side.  I thought to myself “Ok genius, now what?”  I prepared for a very rough touch down. 

The problem with the landing was that the angle of the ATV was not the same as the angle of the sand when it hit.  In simple terms, I did not land right.  First came the back wheels, then the front wheels hit with such force that it launched me up and over the front of the ATV.  I am sure it was similar to being launched from a catapult.  Being thrown with such force, I ended up flipping in the air just enough to land on my back with my head in the direction of where the ATV was coming from, and with my arms & legs spread out like I was making a snow angel.  With the air being knocked out of me, I was able to see the unmanned ATV coming at me but not able to move out of its way.  I watched in disbelief as it drove straight over me.  Like something out of a Three Stooges episode, it ended up running over my arms and legs, leaving tread marks and scrapes on each limb.

Noticing that I had not emerged triumphant from my Evil Kenevil like stunt, my wife came riding up to me.  Quickly she assessed the situation and tried to figure out how on earth I ended up like this.  After seeing the tread marks on the arms and legs, and the ATV just beyond my feet, she came to the only conclusion there could be.  “YOU RAN YOURSELF OVER!!!”  Fortunately, it ended up that the only thing that I hurt was my pride.  We both still laugh about it now.

So remember ATV’s can be a lot of fun, but when you are just getting used to them, take it easy.  There will be plenty of time, and plenty of sand in San Felipe to have a blast.  Just be careful not to run yourself over.